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The SUNfarming Group, from Erkner in Germany, has secured a financing framework of €20 million for the construction of 40 MWp of photovoltaic projects in Poland.

SUNfarming Polska plans to expand its solar portfolio in Poland this year with projects of at least 40 MWp capacity. The projects were predominantly realized through auctions held in 2017 and 2018.

The first projects to be financed through the acquired funding line are four PV plants, each of 1 MWp for a total capacity of 4 MWp, in Ostrołęka. The plants were put into operation in December and were awarded a contract in the first Polish test tender, held at the end of 2016.

Another portion of the financing is planned for new projects with a total capacity of 5 MWp in the SUNfarming portfolio. Three SUNfarming solar parks, each of 1 MWp, will be built near Łask in Łódź Province and two more will be developed in the province of Lower Silesia, near Ząbkowice Śląskie. The projects were secured in a tender of June 2017, and completion is due by the end of June. By winning tenders, all the PV parks benefit from 15-year “contracts for difference” with Polish Energy Agency URE, which guarantees a fixed feed-in tariff for each kWh produced by paying the difference from the market price.

The financing facility of €20 million taken up by the SUNfarming Group will be used to finance the construction phase of existing and planned PV projects in Poland and was collateralized at the level of a Polish asset holding company owned by the project companies. SUNfarming was supported by a well-known financial advisor from Frankfurt am Main, who was tasked with structuring the transaction and debt sourcing.

“We are pleased to announce the closing of this transaction, which we completed within six weeks of the turn of the year,” said Martin Tauschke, managing director of SUNfarming GmbH and SUNfarming Polska sp.z.o.o. “We thank all involved for the efficient and professional cooperation. The bridging line enables us to consistently implement our strategy in Poland and accelerate our international growth. With a planned PV capacity of 1.2 GW by 2020, [and] with currently only about 360 MW of installed capacity, Poland represents an important future market for us.”